The Masquerader
by NyxBlade
Summary: Everybody knows Kise Ryota, the cheerful model extrodinare from Teiko who seems normal, if a bit scatterbrained. But, how well do they truly know him? Can you truly know what goes on inside another’s head?
1. chapter 1

**_A/n: I know I haven't written anything in a while, so I hope I haven't gotten rusty. This story focuses on Kise because I think he's an interesting character most people overlook; I mean with his cheerful persona, who knows what lies beneath? It makes it fun to write his character because there's so many things you can do with it. Apologies if he seems too OOC. I hope you all enjoy, and please review; your reviews give meaning to my work._**

 ** _Disclaimer: The only thing I own is my soul, and I'm selling next Tuesday._**

Once upon a time, there was a little boy; he had blonde hair and yellow eyes, and he had two little sisters. As their eldest and only son, the boy's parents spoiled him rotten with attention. His sisters adored him as well, instead of being jealous that their parents spent more time with him than them. Even the gods loved him, granting him prodigious talent and the ability to copy anything he sees. The boy was loved by all.

He was a very charismatic child, too, a social butterfly since the day he was born. Even the coldest hearts would melt at the sight of his smile, and even the hardest of heads would succumb the his powers of persuasion.

The boy, however, was envied by some of his peers; they were jealous of his abilities and his popularity. The boy didn't hate them though; he let them keep their opinions.

All in all, the boy was a blessed child, reknowned for his cheer and sociability. He never held a grudge or wished ill on anybody.

At least, that's what everyone thought.

The boy was loved by others, but they were nothing in his heart, mere insects below his notice. He was talented, sure, but that talent made him arrogant; he believed he had no equal. The people who had faith in him, the people who flocked to him- the boy thought them all gullible fools, too quick to accept his empty pretty words, too blind to see through his fake smiles. His own sisters meant nothing to him, no more than ants on a sidewalk. Towards his parents, he felt even less; he was even a tad disgusted that he was related to them, such naive, talentless fools. Many claimed to be the boy's friend, but in his eyes they were all mindless fools, only seeking him to leech off his popularity.

In the boy's dreams, he saw himself beating up the people who bullied him, ripping them apart until they begged for mercy, crying and pleading for him to _stop, please! -and each time he'd give them a sliver of hope that, yes, he'll let them go, only to brutally snatch it all away and laugh in their faces because who did they think they were to belittle him, to go against him who was better than them in every single way- and why should he cater to the whims of flies? Then he'd laugh and laugh and when he woke up, he'd always be in a good mood. His parents thought he was dreaming of little boy things like airplanes and dinosaurs but **oh how wrong they were.**_

The cheerful little boy they all loved was nothing more than a mask, a fake persona put on to fool the world.

No one could see the boy for what he really was: an empty void, a black hole wearing a human face.

Even as he grew up, nobody noticed anything off with the boy, no subtle tells of the violence that lies within. With his intelligence, he breezed through elementary school; he was even nominated one of the smartest students. He was still popular, too; all the girls wanted to be with him, and all the guys wanted to be him. But, blessed as he was, he was never happy; no one could see past the mask he wore- they looked at him, but no one could see **_him._**

Then, he entered Teiko Middle School.

And everything changed.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/n: Sorry for the long time wait. I've just been a lazy ass recently. I hope this more than makes up for the wait. And yes, it'll be platonic Kikuro, and maybe it'll be more than that as the story progresses. I haven't quite decided._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroko no Basuke; nothing I could make would ever be as popular._**

Kise didn't notice the boy at first; he was far too busy dealing with that punk Haizaki.

Haizaki had never trusted him like the others, never thought of highly of him like the others. He surmised that it was an instinctual reaction; after all, Haizaki wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. Kise didn't know whether to be impressed that someone managed to sense something or to be chagrined that someone managed to see through his ruse.

Either way, he still found Haizaki an annoying bastard.

It was an ordinary day a Teiko Middle school. Kise had been at Teiko over a year, and it was exactly the same as elementary school; he had a slew of admirers who only saw the cheerful facade, and everyone else wrote him off as an optimistic fool.

They were the real fools, the blind ones.

Haizaki had cornered him after school again, calling him a monster for his copycat ability. It wasn't Kise's fault he was born with special powers, but Haizaki mustn't have gotten that memo. No matter; nothing Haizaki did really bothered him. He'd just play the helpless victim once more and think about someway to pay him back later. Perhaps he'd steal his wallet before Haizaki went to go home on the subway. Then the bastard would have to walk home.

It was then that he noticed the boy.

He looked around ten to twelve years old, with baby blue hair and eyes. He wore the same uniform from Teiko. He was walking past across the street; it was hard for Kise to spot him, even though the street was practically empty. The boy didn't notice him at all.

He didn't know whether to get offended or not, honestly; most people knew who he was or at least gave him a second glance for his looks.

He decided not to blame the boy; he was nice like that.

Haizaki got bored of him, for now, so Kise headed home. He sort of dreaded coming home to his attention-whore mother who was addicted to the spotlight of the silver screen and his lustful father who he knew frequented a stripper bar after work on Fridays. Not to mention his adoring little sisters- how they would look at him with wide, hopeful eyes. It made him puke. How could he be related to such weak creatures, such pathetic sheep. Luckily, his mother is overseas for a movie filming, and his father was working overtime, which was code for going to a cheap bar after work.

He did his homework; mere child's play for someone like him. He decided to find out who the boy was; his interest was piqued, and he had nothing else to do anyways. It would take a little leg work and the use of his charismatic charm girls seem to love, but his instincts told him it'd be worth his while. And besides, it was far too long since something interesting caught his eye.

He decided to start by asking around the schoolyard; surely, one of his numerous followers would have seen him around. But, no one remembered seeing a student with blue hair and eyes. Correction: no one saw a student with baby blue hair and pale skin. Apparently, a student by the name of Aomine Daiki had matched the initial description, but further questioning revealed that he was most certainly not the person he was looking for.

He found it interesting how one boy could remain so inconspicuous that not even his own classmates would pay attention to him. He was a bit envious; his problem was that he received too much attention, praise for his every move and word. It was a bit annoying for him, honestly, but he supposed it was better than the alternative.

He decided his next course of action would be to scout out the boy himself; his loyal peons proved worthless, so he would need to do the dirty work himself. It would be too easy if his fans did all the work, he supposed. It wouldn't be a challenge, and what fun would that be if it was too easy. No, it was for the best that the boy proved elusive.

He roamed the halls, looking into classrooms filled to the brim with students. He knew he wouldn't get in trouble; he had his teacher dancing in the palm of his hand. All it took was a little persuasion. And a few brief mentions of his teacher's phone's browser history. Really, what teacher would leave such material where innocent and impressionable students could find it? It was a career-ending error, and no one would dare hire a pervert to teach young children again. How sad.

But that was neither here nor there. What mattered was finding that kid.

It took a while and far more effort than he was planning to expend, but he found the boy sitting in the back of classroom 2-C. The boy was on his lonesome, silent amongst a sea of chittering teenagers. He gazed out the window, only half paying attention to the teacher's lecture. Which, he supposed, was far more attention than his classmates were giving, with all their note passing and semi-whispered conversations. His own classmates didn't even seem to notice him. What a shame. It seemed the poor boy didn't have a single person who noticed him, nevermind friends.

Perhaps he should intervene. He could use a companion who didn't worship the ground he walked on, and the kid didn't seem to be the type to talk his ear off like the others who desperately craved his attention.

He asked Class 2-C's homeroom teacher What's-her-face for the class roster. The teacher didn't ask questions; she knew better after that whole stolen wallet fiasco. Of course, being the outstanding citizen he was, he returned the principal's wallet after the teacher succumbed to his will. And, also of course, no one would suspect the cheerful idiot of anything except of being too cute for his own good.

He could easily get away with murder, if only because everyone would think him too stupid to do something like that.

Not that he would want to do such a thing.

Yet. But Haizaki was really pushing it.

Anyways, that idiot teacher gave him the class's roster. The only name he couldn't put a face to was one Kuroko Tetsuya, and he was very good with faces and names. So, by process of elimination, the one he has been seeking was Kuroko Tetsuya.

It was a nice name he'd admit. Rolls off the tongue.

Now to approach the boy. How would he go about it? The boy was so inconspicuous that he didn't think anyone would know what he liked to do or where he liked to hang out. He could always get someone to hack the school's computer system in order to see if he's registered for any clubs. It'd be easy enough; a certain technology nerd from his class would most definitely be willing to do this little favor for him.

(Did that fool really think he was oblivious to his obvious attraction towards him. That retard might as well put up a sign saying "I love Kise Ryota" like some of his bolder fans do. The nerd practically worshiped the ground he walked on. A classic cas of puppy love. Disgusting.)

So, he'd use the nerd then drop him like a sack of potatoes. The fool would be too busy salivating over his ass to notice he'd already been forgotten. As if such an ugly toad would warrant his attention. The fool must have been dreaming to think, even if he did whatever he asked, he stood a chance.

He so longed to break that little fool once he was done with him, to toy with his little fragile feelings like an old windup toy, but he knew he shouldn't lose his chipper persona. Not for someone so insignificant as the toad. Not when that reputation spared him so much trouble. It's just not worth it.

As it turns out, Kuroko was in a club. How lucky.

It was the basketball club, the one sport he never bothered to learn how to play. He found it funny that such a tiny, delicate thing as his Kuroko would join a sports club. And such an aggressive contact sport as well. Quite frankly, it wasn't what he'd expected.

His newest find proved to be quite interesting indeed.

This will be the most fun he had in a while.


End file.
